Special Lecture on Water Resources in Afghanistan
Pir M. AZIZI1

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a distinct pleasure for me to be at this important meeting and address such a
distinguished gathering. Permit me to congratulate you on the successful organization ofthis seminar at the university of Tsukuba. Permit me also, to express my words ofthanks to you for the invitation, which serves notice that Afghanistan has joined thisinternational seminar and present post-conflict country report on water resources.
Afghanistan is emerging from a dark chapter in its history, transitioning todemocracy, peace and stability, taking the road with the objective of reconstruction,
leading to self-sufficiency and prosperity.
More than two decades of war and conflicts and the past four years of drought
exposed millions of people to extreme hardship. Devastating earthquake, floods andlocust infestation was the other prominent dimension of our suffering. It was only after
the military and political upheavals that followed events of 11 Sept 2001, made theworld acutely aware of the suffering of the Afghan people.
The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan is rebuilding this strife-torn nation,
the nation that has suffered heavy human and economic losses. We are making all
efforts to seize the moment restore peace, build a nation that is fragmented and findunity in that diversity whatever that roots, be they language, religion, ethnic or gender.
We have a common goal and a common road, i.e. reconstruction and development of a
new Afghanistan that would bring prosperity to its people and stability to the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Prolong civil unrest has created vast physical, human and environmental
destruction. We have lost our human and natural resources. Our infrastructure is totally
destroyed; we have lost our educated and skilled elites. Our institutional setup, be they
public, economic, financial or administrative, are extremely weak. Agriculture sector,
which makes the backbone of the country’s economy, has suffered serious setback.
Continuous drought has resulted in mass displacement of rural communities,
particularly Kochis (nomad) and farm communities that are dependent on rangeland andrain-fed agriculture. There are vulnerable Kochis and Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) who need emergent assistance before winter intervention.

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Deputy Minister, Ministry of Irrigation, Water Resources and Environment, Transitional Islamic Stateof Afghanistan

Over the past six months 1.7 million refugees have returned back to
Afghanistan. For those who do return to rural areas, the inputs will need to be provided
include: shelter, temporary food supply, seed, fertilizer, agricultural equipment,
technical assistance and credit. Lack of social services and means of livelihood in therural areas are the main factors causing the returnees to join the urban, creating
additional demands for employment, housing and other services. Presently majority of
returning refugees are reintegrated in Kabul and other major cities, unless urgent action
is taken, rapid onset of winter could result in tragic consequences for hundred ofThousands.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
1.1. Afghanistan is a landlocked mountainous country that has an area of about
65 million hectares and the population is estimated at about 23 millions of which about
30 – 35% are living in the urban areas. The country is dominated by the Hindu Kush
ranges, which bisects the land area from the northeast to south west and west.
Due to rugged mountainous relief, the climate ranges from arid in the south andsouth - west to semi - arid in the other parts of the country. The high range of HinduKush and Pamir are moderately humid. Precipitation ranges from less than 100 mm ataltitude bellow 1000m to 500 – 800mm above 5000m. Temperature ranges from –200c
to 450c, however as high as 500 C is also recorded. Evapotranspiration rate is between 5
to 10mm/day. Most of the precipitation occurs between November and May, however
limited influence of monsoon reaches the Paktia and Paktika (East) during summer, too.
(Table 1)
1.2. There are 11 geographical/ agro-ecological zones (Dupree 1973), six ofwhich (Wakhan, Badakhshan, central mountain, eastern mountains and foot - hills,
northern mountains and foot hills, southern mountains and foot - hills) are associatedwith the Hindukush mountain ranges, however the remaining five zones (northern
plains, HRT – Farah lowlands, Helmand valley – Sistan basin, western story andEastern sandy deserts), cover the desert and plains surrounding the central ranges to thenorth, south, east and west. (Figure)2

Table 1 Precipitation, Temperature and Evapotranspiration
Location

Altitude{m asl}Precipitation{mm }Temperature
{C}

360
378
433
510
580
660
780
815
964
1,010
1,146
1,200
1,280
1,630
1,791
1,905
2,070
2,183
2,800

214
190
349
271
171
77
89
372
241
158
448
521
323
499
303
433
222
292
282

-2 - +38-2 - +39-2 - +39-2 - +37+3 - +41~0 - +42~0 - +42-2 - +35-3 - +36~0 - +40-1 - +35-5 - +35-3 - +30~0 - +31-7 - +32-7 - +31-8 - +29-11 - +31
-21 - +25

Shiberghan
Mazar-I Sharif
KunduzBaghlanJalal abad
Farah
Lashkargah
Maimana
Herat
Qandahar
Khost
Faizabad
Qadis
Jabul – Saraj
Kabul
Kanizimir
GhalminGhazniLal – Sarjangal

Annual
ETP
{mm}
1,420
1,530
1,390
1,100
1,350
1,610
1,720
1,310
1,720
1,790
1,390
1,020
1,240
1,610
1,280
1,100
1,100
1,420
950

Daily ETP
{mm}
8
9
8
6
7
8
8
7
10
8
6
6
6
9
7
6
6
7
5

1.3. Taking in to account the precipitation as the most decisive parameter,
followings are the main climatic zones:
Climatic zones

Precipitation (mm)Badakhshan
Central and northern mountains
Eastern and southern mountains
Walkhan corridor and Pamir
North plains
Western and south western lowlands

300 – 800
200 - 600
100 – 700
<100 – 500<100 – 400<100 – 300

2. Land Cover:The land cover statistics derived from the 1990/93 dataset FAO project AFG/
90/002, published in March 1999 is illustrated in Table 2.

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Table 2 Land cover statistics derived from remote sense,
1993 data and government statistics published in 1972.
LAND COVER

AREA (ha)% OF TOTAL

Urban
Orchards
Agricultural land (Irrigated)
Intensive
Intermittent
Rain fed
Range land
Forests
Barren land
Marsh land
Water bodies
Snow Covered areas

29,494
94,2170.05
0.10

1,559,654
1,648,136
4,517,714
29,176,732
1,337,582
24,064,016
417,563
248,187
1,436,101

2.40
2.60
7.00
45.20
2.10
37.30
0.60
0.40
2.30

Total

64,559,396

100%

Comparing the land cover statistics of 1972 and 1993, the followings would beconcluded:
1) The total area under cultivation reduced from 14% to 12.1% as per followings:a) Irrigated component of the areas under cultivation reduced from 3.5 million ha
to 3.2 million ha during 20 years period.
b) Rain fed areas in this period dropped from 5.4 million ha to 4.5 million ha.
2) Forest cover, including the pistachio forest, declined from 1.9 million ha to 1.3
million ha. Deforestation rate is about 30,000 ha per year. Illegal logging and thedemand for fuel wood and extended drought are the main factors contributing to
deforestation.
3) Rangeland and watershed areas are intensively degraded. Over grazing andcultivation of rangeland by increasing rural communities to mitigate the effects ofdrought has resulted in widespread degradation, flooding and severe soil erosion.
4) To conclude, long – term conflict and extended drought are the principle factors
placed the natural resources of Afghanistan in a rather poor shape and caused adegraded environment.

3. Water Resources of Afghanistan
3.1. Since a large part of the high mountains are located in the center of thecountry that extends to the north – east and south – west, therefore many rivers are
originating from these ranges in a radial form to the north, south – east, south – west
and west. About 80% of the surface flow originates from the Hindu Kush mountain
ranges at altitude above 2000 m. Most of the glaciers are located at the higher altitudesof the same ranges. It is estimated that watersheds related to these mountain ranges
receive 4 to 5 times more precipitation of orographic type than any other parts of thecountry. Most of the precipitation is in the form of snow that upon melting in spring andsummer creates perennial and seasonal streams.

43.2. Many hydrologists have studied the river systems of the country andidentified 3 to 5 river basins. It is convenient to take the work of V.L. Shultz, who
divided Afghanistan in to 3 large river basins. Following is the river basins with theestimated water potential at the normal years.
Table 3 Large river basins and estimated mean annual volume (million cu. m)
NAME OF RIVER BASIN
MEAN ANNUAL VOLUME (m,m3 )DRAINAGE AREA (Km2)

Amu Darya Basin
Desert Basin
Kabul river basin

241,000
328,000
73,00053,0309,300
21,670

Total

642,000

84,0003.3. Afghanistan is sharing part of its water resources with the neighboring
countries, i.e. Tajikistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. Assuming 34% share of thetotal annual water flow with the neighboring countries, Afghanistan still would have
55,440-mil. cu.m. surface water flow for its use (2,410 m3 / head / year). This is quite alarge amount of fresh water at the normal years that can be used for agriculture anddomestic purposes. The quality of surface water is good in the upper and the lower
basin throughout the year. Due to intensive degradation of the watershed areas, thesediment discharge is high, particularly during springtime, in all rivers.
3.4. Little is known about the ground water in Afghanistan, because very
limited studies have been carried out to make an over all assessment at national level.
According to Marvlayarov and Chmyriov, 1976, there are three hydro - geologicalzones in Afghanistan, namely,
1- The northern artesian region.
2- The central hydro-geological folder and3- The southern artesian region.
The same source confirm abundance of ground water in the quaternary aquifers a longthe major river valleys where the infiltration rate is quite high. The ground water
recharge is, thus, higher close to mountains and foothills than flat areas.
3.5. It will be rather difficult to conclude the annual ground water recharge
volume, however assuming 15% infiltration of the total annual precipitation, it can be
estimated that the annual ground water recharge in the normal years would be amounted
to about 20 billion cubic meter. Quality of ground water, depending on the nature of theparent materials through which it percolates, ranges from good to brakish from place toplace. Ground water in the low laying areas tends to be saline in its nature.
3.6. No research information is available on the annual use of surface andground water in Afghanistan, however it is estimated that about 20 billion cu. m.
freshwater and over 5 billion cu.m. ground water is used annually for drinking andirrigation purposes. Taking these estimated figures as the indicatives of present use,5

then there will be a balance of over 15 and 30 billions cu m. of ground water and fresh
water per year, respectively.

4. Present status of water resources:
4.1. Obviously, extended drought has not only caused the reduction of thesurface water but severely diminished the capacity of ground water, too. The later
reduction is manifested in drastic drop of the level of underground water, particularly inthe south and south – west of the country where drought is more severe than any otherparts. As a result, many Karezes (underground tunnel) and springs are either dried – upor produce minimum quantity of water.
At present surface flow at different rivers all over the country is reduced from
40% to 65% of the normal year capacity. Following is the status of fresh water in themain river basins:
Table 4 Water flow in the main river basin
RIVER BASIN

ESTIMATED ANNUL VOLUME Billion cub.m

Amu Darya basin
Desert basin
Kabul river basin

14.10
4.13
8.80

Total

27.03

4.2. The above figures indicate that there is an over 50% reduction of fresh
water at the country level. As mentioned earlier, at least, one – third of the water
resources is flowing down to the neighboring countries, however the remaining ismostly used by traditional methods of irrigation. Taking the irrigated area in 1978,
which was estimated to be 2.63 m. ha, approximately 2.3 m. ha or over 90% of the total
area, uses traditional schemes developed and built by farmers and operated andmaintained according to communal customs and practices. However only 0.33 m. ha isirrigated by modern systems, and perennial rivers. Of the total irrigated areas, about
1.44 m. ha had sufficient water supply to support double cropping.
The effect of war and lack of maintenance on the irrigated systems have not beensystematically assessed.
4.3. According to FAO, 1997, about 1.7 m.ha required rehabilitation andanother 0.68m.ha required improved water management. Modern irrigated schemes
built and operated by the state are in need of rehabilitation. These large schemes require
infrastructure, rehabilitation, repairs to dams and other major structure and sound water
management program.
4.4. Ground water, as part of annual recharge or the non-renewable reserves,
could serve as the most important safeguard in times of drought or low water
availability. Legal and regulatory approaches require effective public institution andobedience to the rule of law. In developing world, involvement of communities in the6decision making process, ensure sound management of water resources (surface andground water) at the village /district level.
Under the post conflict environment and continuous drought, manyorganizations and thousand of individuals are digging tube well and extracting water fordomestic use and agriculture purposes. This has resulted in rapid drop of the level ofground water in all parts of the country, particularly south and south - west. While theincrease in vulnerability to low rainfall is likely to be continued, such activity can betraced to unsustainable land use practices and further shrinkage of natural resourcesbase. When prolonged drought occurs, asset depletion, low agriculture production, poor
health and increased uncertainty could lead to a situation that would be difficult torecover from, even if rainfall returns to normal. This is a serious and possible
catastrophic development for Afghanistan if it is not managed properly.

5. Droughts and Surface Water Resource Management and Development:
Since most of the water resources have their origin in the Hindu-kush mountain
ranges. Therefore, these areas function as a natural storage of water in the form of snow
during winter that is the primary source in the major rivers in spring and summer. The
water catchments volume of these areas is estimated to be 150 billion cu. m, while therest of the country precipitation is estimated to be about 30 billion cu.m.
5.1. The recovery and reconstruction programme for surface water resourcesmanagement and development includes the following activities:
1. Establishment of hydro-metrological stations that are needed forsystematic measurements of stream flow and climate data.
2. Rehabilitation/ reconstruction of the traditional and state built
categorized as per following –terms:

schemesa. Short -term projects (mostly community based projects)
b. Medium-term projects
c. Long-term projects
3. Construction of storage reservoir/dams
4. River basin management works
5. Watershed management at micro and macro level (pilot project)
6. Water catchments /water harvesting activities
7. Reforestation and afforestation and green built establishment
8.Flood control and conservation practices
9. Field work to ensure efficient use of water resources. This will include
arrangements for improved and sustainable water resources managementand development, adoption of irrigation technology, Supplemental
irrigation, etc.
10. And last, but not the least institutional capacity building and timely
access of farmers to information and water availability.

76. Ground water reserves and Drought Mitigation:
6.1. Ministry of Irrigation Water Resources and Environment is planning toconduct a field survey, particularly in the south and southwest of the country to assess
the groundwater capacity and formulate strategies regarding the extraction/applicationof groundwater. The river basin management authority will approve formal application
process. The river basin authority will be monitoring the programme on tube welldevelopment and initiate interim licensing or ban drilling tube wells.

7. Environment:
7.1. The natural resource sector has suffered from varying degrees ofdegradation for over twenty years. A combination of war, civil conflict, exploitationand enforced neglect has leaded to degraded environment. The recent severe drought
highly degraded the forests, rangelands and wildlife. Air and water pollution is
becoming a common problem, particularly in the major cities. Desertification is inprogress in the south and southwest areas. Unless urgent action is taken, the situation
tends to be unrecoverable.
7.2. Protection of environment is essential for sustainable development.
Therefore, improvement/protection of environment is one of the major priorities in theprocess of reconstruction. Afghanistan has already signed decrees on Desertification
Biodiversity and Climate Change. We are fully supporting regional cooperation inpreservation and development of environment.
We believe that environment
conservation is a common problem of all, thus, joint efforts ensure its sustainability.
7.3. Ministry of IWRE is planning to undertake the following activities as afirst step towards regeneration /protection of the environment in Afghanistan:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Environment constitution development
Capacity building
Regeneration/management of the protected areas
Enforcement of laws and regulations leading to protection ofenvironment in the country.
5. Active participation in the regional environment programme
6. Combat desertification
7. Protection of endangered species
8. Environment impact assessment
9. Assessment and control of air and water pollution
10. Natural resource management and development, particularly
forests, rangelands and wildlife

8. Conclusion:
8.1. Afghanistan as a strife-torned nation has suffered heavy social and economic
losses. Lack of management and development of natural resources has shaped
the environment into a difficult condition. Long over use of natural resources
by growing population and return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and8continuous drought has further aggravated the situation. Shortage of expertiseand capital and weak institutional set-up is the other dimension of our suffering.
Rehabilitation/reconstruction of the ruined Afghanistan is a big challenge forus. The Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan, while firmly stepping
towards peace and stability, is organizing a series of reconstruction activities at
the national level that lead to prosperity of millions of Afghans and stability of
the region.
8.2. Sound management and development of natural resources is a pillar forsustainable development. Under present circumstances, while drought isstill continuing, management and efficient use of water resources is not only
the priority for food security, but also a pre-condition for socio-economic
development of the country. To achieve the goal, MIWRE has a wide
programme for rehabilitation/reconstruction of the irrigation projects,
construction of dams and reservoirs, implementation of watershedmanagement and water harvesting catchments programmes/projects.

9.Protection and Development of Environment
Protection and development of environment is the other challenge that
actively contributes to sustainable development. Priority is given to regeneration andprotection of the environment. This could be achieved by a true assessment of theenvironment status and undertaking protective measures to avoid further deterioration.
It requires a close coordination of the line departments, a, well-organized working
plan, institutional capacity and financial support.

Selected Bibliography
1. Afghanistan. 2002. Natural Resources and Agriculture Sector (Draft).
2. FAO 1999. AFG/90/002. Land Cover Statistics.
3. FAO 1997 TCP/AFG/4552 (Draft)
4. Afghanistan Government. 1992. The National Report of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan for the UN Conference on Environment and Development(UNCED) Ministry of Planning

5. UNDP/UNOCHOA 1991 Afghanistan:
District UNIDATA, Kabul

Population Estimates by Province,

6. Afghanistan.
1982, Regime of Precipitation in Afghanistan (in Dari)
Department Meteorology, Ministry of Tourism, Kabul

7. Afghanistan Government. 1982, Water of Rivers and Its Use in Irrigation,
Kabul

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8. Dupree, Louis. 1980, Afghanistan, 1st edition. Rama Publishers, New Delhi.

9. Afghanistan Government. 1978, Afghan Agriculture Figures, CSO, Ministry ofPlanning, Kabul
10. FAO 1972, Afghanistan Land Cover Statistics

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